In 2015, the world's top-selling car set a new record for most units delivered in a calendar year

When it comes to the global auto industry, it really is a small world after all. Taking a look at the world’s best-selling new cars and trucks from 2015, you won’t find any exotic brands or nameplates. And, supporting the importance of selling vehicles in the North American market, nine out of the 10 best-selling new vehicles in the world* can be found in Canadian showrooms (all prices are base 2016 MSRP):

10 Place: Toyota RAV4 (664,382 sold)

2015 Toyota RAV4 AWD Limited

The first of three vehicles from Japan’s Toyota to make this list, the RAV4 is yet more proof how compact crossovers are taking over the world. With global sales in 2015 up 5.5 per cent to over 664,000 units sold, the five-passenger, four-door RAV4 jumped two spots to take the 10th spot, compared to 2014. Even more popular in Canada, the $24,900 Toyota was the second-most popular SUV last year, where more than 42,000 examples were sold.

9th Place: Chevrolet Silverado (669,683 sold)

2016 Chevrolet Silverado

Like its overall position on new vehicle sales charts for Canada (where it sold almost 50,000 copies in 2015), the U.S.-based General Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado took the ninth spot in the world sales rankings last year. The first of two American full-size pickup trucks to make this list, the $31,150 Silverado saw a global sales increase of 12.9 per cent, for a total of over 669,000 (of which, 90 per cent were in the U.S.). The increase pushed the Chevy truck up seven spots in the world compared to 2014.

8th Place: Honda CR-V (696,594 sold)

2015 Honda CR-V SE AWD

The $26,190 Honda CR-V was the third-best selling new crossover/SUV in Canada behind the RAV4 and Ford Escape in 2015; worldwide, the five-passenger, compact crossover remains the Japanese automaker’s best-selling new vehicle and the best-selling utility vehicle on the planet. Albeit, CR-V sales were down worldwide last year by 2.5 per cent, resulting in just over 696,000 CR-Vs sold globally.

7th Place: Volkswagen Polo (698,182 sold)

Volkswagen Polo

With calendar-year sales up 2.2 per cent, the subcompact Volkswagen Polo family jumped three spots up from its 10th-place global ranking in 2014. The five-passenger VW stands out for a few reasons compared to the rest of the new vehicles found on this list: The Polo is the first passenger car listed here, and it is also the only vehicle not sold in North American markets.

6th Place: Hyundai Elantra (746,924 sold)

2016 Hyundai Elantra GT

Just as it did in Canada in 2015 — where the $15,799 Hyundai compact finished in sixth place overall, with more than 47,000 copies sold — the five-passenger Elantra finished in the same position when it came to its worldwide sales ranking. With almost 747,000 examples sold globally in 2015, Elantra sales were down by 9.1 per cent. However, with an all-new model being rolled out in global markets throughout 2016, we expect sales of the Korean compact to rise this year.

5th Place: Toyota Camry (754,154 sold)

2015 Toyota Camry

As shoppers continue to migrate to crossovers and SUVs, the only midsize sedan to appear on this list is the $24,655 Toyota Camry, which remained a popular choice for buyers around the world last year. Although global sales were down 1.9 per cent, Toyota sold more than 754,000 Camrys in various markets. America remains the five-passenger, four-door’s biggest market, with over 429,000 examples sold last year, while more than 24,000 Camrys were sold in Canada.

4th Place: Ford Focus (826,221 sold)

2015 Ford Focus SE

Last year’s sales numbers of Ford’s compact Focus are a great example of how influential the Chinese market — the world’s largest — can be. Ford sold over 214,000 copies of its new low-priced Ford Escort in China, which impacted Focus sales in that country to the tune of 150,000 less being sold (the Escort is not available in Canada). Overall globally, the Escort’s success led to sales of the compact $17,199 Focus family to be down by almost 20 per cent in 2015, with just over 826,000 copies sold worldwide.

3rd Place: Ford F-Series (920,172 sold)

2015 Ford F-150 XLT

Don’t shed a tear for Ford’s Focus woes. The U.S. automaker’s perennially best-selling F-Series full-size pickup trucks more than made up the difference. With sales up 1.6 per cent to just over 920,000 copies sold, the F-Series was the best-selling truck in the world, and the third best-selling vehicle on the planet. With over 780,000 copies sold in the U.S. and over 118,000 in Canada, the majority of the Ford truck’s customers last year came from North America, as did most of those who bought Chevy’s Silverado.

2nd Place: Volkswagen Golf (1,041,279 sold)

2016 Volkswagen Golf R

Perhaps we’ll have to wait a year from now to see the eventual impact of parent Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate problems on vehicle sales, but for 2015, sales of the Volkswagen brand’s compact $18,995 Golf family were stronger than ever, moving it into second place globally for the first time. With sales up worldwide by 8.4 per cent, over 1 million Golfs were sold last year, with Germany (270,000) and China (195,000) the VW car’s strongest markets.

1st Place: Toyota Corolla (1,339,024 sold)

Perennial best-sellers like the Corolla no doubt contribute to Toyota’s auto sales dominance

For the first time ever, a new vehicle sold more than 1.3 million units worldwide in a calendar year: the first-place Toyota Corolla. Just as in 2014, the Japanese automaker’s compact was the best-selling new vehicle on the planet last year. Sales were up 4.7 per cent, with the U.S. being the Corolla’s top market, selling more than 363,000 units. Next was China, with over 300,000 sold, then Japan with 109,027 sold. In Canada last year, the $15,995 Corolla took seventh place overall, with 48,881 sold.